Eagles get their invite to The White House after Superbowl win

The Philadelphia Eagles got their honorary invite to The White House after their Superbowl LII win over New England. The question now is how many will actually accept the invitation.

The Philadelphia Eagles got their honorary invitation to come visit The White House on June 5 after winning their first Superbowl in franchise history, outscoring the Patriots 41-33 in February.

While the first official invitation was sent out in late April, the team reiterated its stance on the matter saying “not only as an opportunity to be recognized for our on-field achievements, but also as an opportunity to engage in productive dialogue with the leaders of our country.”

Some players seem to disagree with the teams perspective, however. Eagles safety Malcolm Jenkins, DE Chris Long and former Eagles WR Torrey Smith, who was traded to the Carolina Panthers, all expressed they would skip the meeting if invited.

“Over the last two years, I’ve been meeting with legislators, both Republican and Democrat, it don’t matter.” Jenkins said. “If you want to meet to talk about events in my community, changing the country, I’m all for that. But this isn’t one of those meetings, so I’ll opt out of the photo opportunity.”

Jenkins has been an outspoken advocate for social reform and one of the team’s captains this past season, along with his role as co-founder of The Player’s Coalition. He’s no novice when it comes to standing for a cause.

“I don’t want to take away from anybody’s experience or make it a big distraction. It’s a celebratory event, and I want the guys who choose to go or whatever to enjoy that,” Jenkins said in February. “Me personally, because it’s not a meeting or a sit-down or anything like that, I’m just not interested in the photo op.”

The defending champion Eagles are set to open the 2019 season with a Thursday night opener against the Atlanta Falcons on September 6.